MotoGP Valencia Test: Dovizioso's one wish for 2018 Ducati…

Andrea Dovizioso thinks a small improvement in turning ability will be enough to make the 2018 Ducati 'competitive every weekend'.

Having finished as MotoGP title runner-up during a stellar 2017 season with Ducati, Andrea Dovizioso thinks he needs just one small improvement to be competitive every weekend in 2018.

And, unsurprisingly, it's to make the Desmosedici turn a little better.

"I think that will be enough! If we can improve a little bit. I don't want to say we have to fix it, because for sure we have some other advantages," said the Italian, speaking at the end of the official Valencia test.

"So I don’t want to say our bike is bad, and the turning is so bad. I think we have good points on the bike now, but the turning - for me and from my experience with different teams and bikes - is very important.

"If we are able to improve a little bit, it will be enough to be competitive in every weekend."

Dovi was speaking after setting the seventh and 15th fastest lap times, respectively, over the two days. The eight-time MotoGP race winner was relaxed about his position on the timesheet, but admitted it's not easy to keep calm and focus on bike development.

"In the test you can see a lot of fast riders, but in the races it is always the same riders in the front, more or less," he said. "Because there is a way to make a test, without taking a lot of risks and trying to understand all the pieces that you try.

"It's not easy [to do that]. Like today, you can see a lot of riders are fast so you can feel 'it’s not the best day for me'. But you have to stay calm and continue to work in your box because the details [you are working on] will make a difference in the weekend race."

For Dovizioso and team-mate Jorge Lorenzo those details involved trying some new chassis parts to help finalise the design of the 2018 Ducati.

"We tried small things. Unfortunately, we didn't have the ‘18 bike here to really start for the next season. So we just wanted to try different things to decide in which way it will be the ‘18 bike. But also we will test in Jerez [next week]. Still we have to try a few things to make a decision."